Once members of an underprivileged caste of an ancient empire, the humans who would become skulks withdrew from the world through a magical ceremony that solidified their “untouchable” status. The ritual granted them natural camouflage, allowing skulks to blend in perfectly with their surroundings.
Skulks gather in small bands within or near human communities. When night falls, they engage in raids that result in bloodshed as the skulks’ innate hatred for humans manifests itself in murderous rage. They use ambush, deception and superior numbers to overwhelm their victims.
Personality: Skulks are angry, violent creatures who harbour jealous hatred for all beings more fortunate than them (which includes just about everyone). They have a powerful self-preservation instinct, often mistaken for cowardice, that keeps them to the shadows. They have little regard even for their own people, and skulk mothers have been known to abandon their own young if it meant protecting their own skin.
Physical Description: Skulks stand between 5 feet and 6 feet tall and weigh 120 to 180 pounds. They are completely hairless and wear little or no clothing. It is difficult to determine, at first glance, whether a skulk is male or female. Their skin is usually dull grey, but an individual can change its colour on a whim, from a subdued brown to a lurid red or yellow. Skulks are capable of assuming any “natural” human flesh tone to better blend in. They have pupilless blue eyes, regardless of their skin colouration.
Relations: Skulks typically hate all humanoid races, but display particular viciousness toward their human forebears. Even those skulks who aren’t evil don’t usually trust other races, remaining on the outskirts of civilization rather than trying to integrate themselves.
Alignment: Naturally violent and cruel, skulks tend toward chaos and evil, though a few manage to avoid these tendencies. Good skulks are outcasts even among their own people, and lawful skulks are extraordinarily rare (but can become leaders among their race).
Skulk Lands: Skulks have no lands of their own, instead living near or within human towns and cities. They are parasitic in nature, living off what they can scrounge or steal. Particularly bold skulks even live among humans for short periods of time, using disguise and subterfuge to survive.
Religion: Skulks typically worship deities devoted to evil, deception, treachery and murder. Nerull and Vecna find numerous worshippers among the skulks. Non-evil skulks venerate deities such as Boccob or Olidammara. Their most revered deity is the god Syrul, a neutral evil god of lies, deceit, treachery and false promises. Her domains are Evil, Knowledge and Trickery, and her favoured weapon is the dagger.
Language: Skulks speak a bastardized version of Common, rife with words and concepts from long-dead human cultures. They can understand speakers of Common and vice versa.
Names: Skulk names are typically simple, one- or two-syllable monikers. They avoid harsh, sibilant sounds (such as f, s or x), the better to signal their allies quietly. Skulks do not recognize any ties to family or clan, and thus rarely use anything more than a single name.
Male Names: Hadan, Krem, Lar, Lorrid, Mullev.
Female Names: Adal, Ev, Ilen, Olleg, Udge.
Adventurers: Skulks who are brave enough to leave their people are rare, but can prove effective adventurers. Skulk adventurers, however, are outcasts from their coterie, forced into a life of danger by necessity rather than choice. In any case, skulk adventurers are most often rogues, fighters or barbarians. Skulk bards who overcome the race’s naturally insensitive personality can become exceptional spies.
Source: Races of Destiny (Page 105)
Your character can be either male or female.
Every player character starts as an adult. You can choose or randomly generate your character’s age. If you choose it, it must be at least the minimum age for the character’s race and class (see Table: Starting Ages). Your character’s minimum starting age is the adulthood age of his or her race plus the number of dice indicated in the entry corresponding to the character’s race and class on Table: Starting Ages.
Alternatively, refer to Table: Starting Ages and roll dice to determine how old your character is.
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 years | +1d4 (16—19) years | +1d6 (16—21) years | +2d6 (17—27) years |
1 This category includes barbarians, rogues and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, fighters, paladins and rangers.
3 This category includes clerics, druids, monks and wizards.
With age, a character’s physical ability scores decrease and his or her mental ability scores increase (see Table: Aging Effects). The effects of each aging step are cumulative. However, none of a character’s ability scores can be reduced below 1 in this way.
| Middle Age1 | Old Age2 | Venerable3 | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 years | 53 years | 70 years | +2d20 years |
1 -1 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
2 -2 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
3 -3 to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
When a character reaches venerable age, the DM secretly rolls his or her maximum age, which is the number from the Venerable column on Table: Aging Effects plus the result of the dice roll indicated on the Maximum Age column on that table, and records the result, which the player does not know. A character who reaches his or her maximum age dies of old age at some time during the following year, as determined by the DM.
The maximum ages are for player characters. Most people in the world at large die from pestilence, accidents, infections or violence before getting to venerable age.
Choose your character’s height and weight from the ranges mentioned in the appropriate race description or from the ranges found on Table: Height and Weight. Think about what your character’s abilities might say about his or her height and weight. A weak but agile character may be thin. A strong and tough character may be tall or just heavy.
Alternatively, roll randomly for your character’s height and weight on Table: Height and Weight. The dice roll given in the Height Modifier column determines the character’s extra height beyond the base height. That same number multiplied by the dice roll or quantity given in the Weight Modifier column determines the character’s extra weight beyond the base weight.
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 4’ 10" | +2d10 (5’ 0"—6’ 6") | 105 lbs. | ×2d4 (109—265 lbs.) |
| Female | 4’ 5" | +2d10 (4’ 7"—6’ 1") | 70 lbs. | ×2d4 (74—230 lbs.) |
Source: Races of Destiny (Page 110)